<h2>All Ears</h2>
What internet users Down Under say online will no longer be kept on the down low.
On Thursday, Australia’s Parliament <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/06/be-careful-what-you-type-australia-new-law-will-give-authorities-access-encrypted-chats/?utm_term=.73efa624f1b9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed the Assistance and Access Bill</a>. The legislation will force tech companies to help Australian authorities decrypt users&#8217; online communications — and it could represent a major blow to data privacy elsewhere in the world.
<h2>Twisting Arms</h2>
Messages sent via services such as Facebook&#8217;s Messenger or Apple&#8217;s iMessage can be <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3zdqy/apple-is-trying-to-make-your-imessages-even-more-private" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encrypted</a>. That means the message is scrambled in a way that&#8217;s unintelligible without a special key.
Solid encryption prevents a message from being readable if it&#8217;s intercepted by a third party. That&#8217;s a thorn in the side of law enforcement agencies, which have often asked tech companies to make it easier for them to access readable versions of these messages.
Both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/22/tim-cook-apple-refusal-unlock-iphone-fbi-civil-liberties">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/facebook-wins-court-battle-over-law-enforcement-access-to-encrypted-phone-calls/2018/09/28/df438a6a-c33a-11e8-b338-a3289f6cb742_story.html?utm_term=.1d4fb6b65038">Facebook</a> have refused to provide this help, arguing that it would jeopardize user privacy. But now that the Assistance and Access Bill is law, companies that refuse to help Australian authorities could face fines of <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/bills/r6195_first-reps/toc_pdf/18204b01.pdf;fileType=application/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly $10 million</a> in Australian currency.
<h2>Five Eyes</h2>
Australia is a member of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/world/uk-us-five-eyes-intelligence-explainer/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Five Eyes alliance</a> along with Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Britain. Through the alliance, these nations agree to share intelligence information with one another, and in September they made it clear they expect tech companies to facilitate their access to that information.
&#8220;Should governments continue to encounter impediments to lawful access to information necessary to aid the protection of the citizens of our countries,&#8221;the five nations wrote in a <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/About/CommitteesandCouncils/Documents/joint-statement-principles-access-evidence.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, &#8220;we may pursue technological, enforcement, legislative, or other measures to achieve lawful access solutions.&#8221;
Based on the passage of Australia&#8217;s anti-encryption bill, it looks like the nation is ready to start pursuing the legislative route — and it&#8217;s not a stretch to imagine the other countries in the alliance following suit.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/06/be-careful-what-you-type-australia-new-law-will-give-authorities-access-encrypted-chats/?utm_term=.73efa624f1b9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Be Careful What You Type in Australia. A New Law Will Give Authorities Access to Encrypted Chats.</a> [The Washington Post]
More on encryption: <a href="https://futurism.com/future-cybersecurity-quantum-encryption" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Future of Cybersecurity Is in High-Speed Quantum Encryption</a>

It's ready to take legal action against companies that refuse.

Australia wants to force tech companies to decrypt user messages

Gimme Gimme

Australia’s Parliament just passed an anti-encryption bill that will force tech companies to help the nation decrypt user communications.

Australia Wants to Force Tech Companies to Decrypt User Messages

Its anti-encryption bill could erode internet users' privacy.

<h2>A Secure Threat</h2>
Cracking today&#8217;s most secure encryption would either take a really long time or massive computing power.
But even the most secure data encryption algorithms could <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612509/quantum-computers-encryption-threat/">soon become ineffective</a> — and it&#8217;s all the fault of quantum computers.
<h2>Quantum Hackers</h2>
The age of quantum computing is almost upon us. In a matter of years, quantum computers could become far more powerful than the digital computers we use now.
Harnessing the power of quantum computers could undermine current encryption methods in a matter of days. At least, that&#8217;s according to a <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25196/quantum-computing-progress-and-prospects">new report</a> by experts at the U.S. National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Their fear: significant security loopholes could crop up if hackers get their hands on powerful quantum computers before quantum-proof encryption methods become mainstream. Even worse, they predict it could take decades for those quantum-proof systems to roll out across banks, hospitals and other institutions that you don&#8217;t want to get hacked.
<h2>Quantum for the Masses</h2>
But not all is lost. Startups like ISARA, a Canadian firm, are already working on encryption methods that are resistant to quantum hacking, the MIT Technology Review <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612509/quantum-computers-encryption-threat/">reports</a>.
That&#8217;s a good thing, because it&#8217;s better to be safe than sorry.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612509/quantum-computers-encryption-threat/">Quantum computers pose a security threat that we’re still totally unprepared for</a> [MIT Technology Review] 

More on quantum security: <a href="https://futurism.com/quantum-video-secure-communication">Quantum Video Call Displays the Future of Secure Communication</a>

What could be a bigger security threat than today's hackers? Quantum hackers.

Researchers: quantum computers could become ultimate hacking tool

Quantum Hackers

According to a new report, it could take 20 years for quantum-safe encryption to become mainstream. And that's bad news.

Researchers: Quantum Computers Could Become Ultimate Hacking Tool

Luckily we're already working on a solution.

We need the internet more than ever these days. Who among us doesn’t get a shiver up the spine at the thought of losing access to their navigation app – just as they’re speeding down the highway in an unfamiliar city? Or missing a crucial deadline because the WiFi that was promised on the train turns out to be nothing more than a phantom selection in a dropdown menu?
While the world grows more reliant on having on-demand internet at every possible moment, our existing internet infrastructures haven’t kept pace with our increased dependency on connectivity.
Bottlenecks, lags, and dead spots have become one of the most common and annoying nuisances in our everyday lives. Shouting “The internet’s down!” in a busy workplace is the modern-day equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded movie theater. And it’s happening more than ever. If the era of dial-up internet was Web1.0, the last decade-and-change of broadband and 4G was Web2.0—it&#8217;s awkward, yet promising, adolescence.
<figure id="attachment_139306" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-139306 size-large" src="https://wordpress.futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/image_preview-1-1200x488.png" alt="" width="1200" height="488" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Photo credit: Tim Gouw via Unsplash</figcaption></figure>
In the world of Web3.0, the time has come for how we access the internet to finally grow up. If you have noticed though, no one&#8217;s taking up the challenge. There’s good news though: Magic is a new distributed project attempting to change that.
<h2>You Don&#8217;t Know It Yet, But Web3.0 Has Arrived</h2>
Practically everywhere you go, there’s data in the air—whether it’s coming from cellular networks, private WiFi, or other sources like 5G and LPWAN. The problem is that it’s hard to tap into all that information when you need it. That’s because, up until now, the internet has existed as vast system of walled gardens in the form of thousands of private networks that are all kept under lock and key, usually by limiting password access to trusted users.
It’s a model that works…sort of. But there are a host of problems with this system: it’s inconvenient, it leads to tons of wasted bandwidth, and it’s not nearly as secure—or as private—as we’d like to think it is. You’re not using the WiFi at the local coffee shop to do anything even remotely private, right?
How many times have you found yourself on your phone, in a cellular dead-zone, unable to see if that important e-mail just arrived because you don’t know the password for the nearest WiFi network? It’s a problem so common that we take it for granted.
Now imagine a different system—one in which all that internet was made available in a cooperative way, allowing you to tap into it—or even to share it—seamlessly and without hassles, no matter where you are. Imagine being able to jump painlessly from one connection source to a better one as it becomes available, without having to waste your time scrolling through access points trying to find the network that will actually let you in.
<figure id="attachment_139355" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-139355 size-large" src="https://wordpress.futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/unnamed-2-1200x800.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Ash Edmonds via Unsplash</figcaption></figure>
Magic is here to take care of that. “Right now, using the internet is like traveling internationally in the early 1900s,” says Benjamin Forgan, founder and CEO of Hologram, Magic’s parent company. “Your data departs via horse, or car, or train, or boat and stop in numerous ports of call. You show your ID at each stop, and sometimes you have to travel through some pretty dangerous spots to get to your destination. Magic is like a teleport for data, by contrast. Your data travels safely from point to point in the fastest, most economical way possible.”
<h2>Choose Magic</h2>
<figure id="attachment_139309" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-139309 size-large" src="https://wordpress.futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Black-logo-1200x516.png" alt="" width="1200" height="516" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Photo credit: Hologram, Inc.</figcaption></figure>
Magic is a service that creates a network of networks, allowing anyone—from big service providers to everyday people with WiFi routers—to grant connectivity to anyone else who needs it, automatically negotiating access based on demand and quality of service, with everything facilitated using a simple client app. In the Magic ecosystem, the line between a provider and a user will be erased: you can give out internet when you have it, and use it when you need it.
If all that sounds scary, it’s not. Privacy and encryption is baked into every Magic connection, ensuring that devices stay in their own lane on your network when a provider, and that the networks you connect to as a user can’t go snooping around in your stuff.
And people won’t just be giving out their internet out of the kindness of their own hearts. Instead, they’ll get compensated for access based on the service and speed they provide, while consumers pay seamlessly for only the service they use and need. It’s a system that’s completely different from the current pay-for-play services that are currently out there—rather than having to get out your credit card every time you want to join a network, everything’s negotiated behind the scenes.
Gone will be the days of frantically scrolling through networks trying to find one that’s available, or sweating bullets as you try to connect to an access point that’s being finicky—Magic will take care of all that for you automatically. And all this increased connectivity won’t just facilitate seamless internet connectivity when you’re on the move: it also means that all that wasted bandwidth that’s floating around in the ether suddenly becomes available, making the internet faster and more reliable for everyone.
“When Magic becomes the predominant means of connecting to the internet, the most noteworthy thing will be how not noteworthy it will seem,” says Forgan. “Everyone and everything will simply have connectivity by default. You won&#8217;t even have to think about it. You&#8217;ll never waste a day of your life waiting for someone to install a cable connection in your new apartment. You&#8217;ll just be connected; the internet will just work.”
In other words: the internet is all grown up and ready for the big time. To learn more, head to <a href="https://magic.co/?utm_content=can-magic-save-the-internet&amp;utm_medium=post-paid&amp;utm_source=futurism.com&amp;utm_campaign=magic-phase-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">magic.co</a>.
The preceding communication has been paid for by Magic. This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to sell shares or securities in Magic or any related or associated company. None of the information presented herein is intended to form the basis for any investment decision, and no specific recommendations are intended. This communication does not constitute investment advice or solicitation for investment. Futurism expressly disclaims any and all responsibility for any direct or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from: (i) reliance on any information contained herein, (ii) any error, omission or inaccuracy in any such information or (iii) any action resulting from such information. This post does not reflect the views or the endorsement of the Futurism.com editorial staff.

The days of searching for service are over.

Achieving next level internet access will require a little Magic, literally

Brands We Love

We're all tapped into the internet virtually all the time. But how secure are our connections? Magic has a way to keep you at ease while living life online.

Achieving Next Level Internet Access Will Require a Little Magic, Literally

Internet security hasn't kept pace with the internet itself. Magic aims to change that.

There’s a lot that we as a species could learn about ourselves by analyzing a crap-ton of people&#8217;s genomes. We could, for example, better understand how to treat health conditions with a genetic component, from cancer to depression.
Sounds great, right? But here&#8217;s the thing — in order to conduct that research, people need to be willing to share a whole lot of personal information with researchers. That might include their entire genetic code, plus any contextual information, like a medical history or dietary habits, which might prove useful for a study.
In an era where we can’t go a friggin week without some company or major database being hacked or leaked (Remember Equifax? that was <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do">just in September</a>), it is very reasonable for people to be skeptical of sharing their information for some abstract scientific benefit.
After all, those databases would contain information about their medical past and future: risk factors for cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, and maybe a whole host other genetic conditions that <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/be-prepared-for-the-big-genome-leak-1.13173">a person might not want broadcasted</a> to the world, or to potential employers.
This is the problem that a team of computer scientists and mathematicians from MIT and Cambridge think they may have helped solve. The team found a way to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4108?utm_source=STAT+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=3a9fd483df-MR&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-3a9fd483df-134219417#author-information">encrypt genetic data</a> so that up to 23,000 people’s genetic codes could be analyzed at once while keeping them anonymous to as many people as possible.
The trick is to chop up the sensitive data and keep it on a network of separate servers, making the sensitive data more secure than if it was all in one place (no matter how secure that one place seems to be). The researchers claim that their new encryption tool could scale up and let researchers analyze up to a million genomes all at once — something that hasn&#8217;t been possible up until now because no existing system could store so much information securely.
Admittedly, <a href="https://futurism.com/genetic-privacy-hacking/">staying truly anonymous</a> while people study your genome still isn&#8217;t really possible — after all, your genome is basically a unique identifier that can&#8217;t substantively be changed — this database adds extra stopgaps so that very few people ever see a person&#8217;s entire genetic code. Researchers will be able to study whatever they&#8217;re interested without accessing more information than they need.
All in all, that means that genetic research can progress without some of the privacy and security risks that previously made it difficult to gather skeptical participants.
Ultimately, this system could mean more than just getting the public to trust researchers with their information — in general, people probably won’t read too much fine print, or ask too many questions about distributed data encryption. What this does mean is that the information that’s already out there can be handled more securely and ethically while still contributing to important discoveries, such as new basic knowledge or treatments for diseases. And if we can make progress without yet another major leak, then that’s pretty cool.

Anything that prevents the next big data leak is good news.

Encrypting genetic research data can keep your info secure

Abstract example of DNA fingerprinting

Health & Medicine

A new encryption tool could allow for massive genetic studies without having to reveal the identities of people who contributed their information.

Encrypted Genomic Data Means People Can Participate in Research Without Sacrificing Privacy

Better digital security means science can progress without violating people's trust.

<h2>A Different Kind of Computing</h2>
While much of the world is captivated by the meteoric rise of <a href="https://futurism.com/bitcoin-surged-new-all-time-high-above-8200/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bitcoin&#8217;s value</a>, others are focused on the technology behind the cryptocurrency: blockchain. The decentralized digital ledger tech is built upon a peer-to-peer network, and it is far more secure than the centralized systems used by traditional banks and financial institutions. However, another revolutionary technology is now threatening Bitcoin&#8217;s security.
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<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.10377" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a recently published paper</a>, Divesh Aggarwal and his colleagues from the <a href="http://www.nus.edu.sg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National University of Singapore (NUS)</a> examined how quantum computers could undermine and even exploit Bitcoin&#8217;s security protocols.
As explained <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609408/quantum-computers-pose-imminent-threat-to-bitcoin-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by the </a><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609408/quantum-computers-pose-imminent-threat-to-bitcoin-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT Technology Review</a>, these protocols use algorithms to turn data into mathematical functions. Every transaction is recorded into &#8220;blocks&#8221; using these functions as part of the computationally demanding work of cryptocurrency mining.
These cryptographic protocols make cracking a blockchain using today&#8217;s computers practically impossible, but the system does have weak points quantum computers could exploit.
<h2>Cryptography Gets Busted</h2>
For their paper, Aggarwal and his colleagues examined how quantum computers could break through Bitcoin&#8217;s security in two ways: by mining more than classical computers can and by cracking Bitcoin&#8217;s cryptographic keys.
If a miner controls more than 50 percent of the computational power on a blockchain network, they can use that majority control for malicious activity. The researchers found that the <a href="https://futurism.com/darpa-we-need-a-new-microchip-technology-to-sustain-advances-in-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)</a> currently used by most cryptocurrency miners should be able to maintain a speed advantage over quantum computers for the next 10 years, so miners likely won&#8217;t be able to use quantum systems for nefarious purposes in this manner for at least a decade.
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As for cracking today&#8217;s cryptographic keys, part of Bitcoin&#8217;s security protocol involves every bitcoin owner possessing two encryption keys: a private one and a public one. The latter can be easily generated using the former, but the reverse is far more difficult. An owner&#8217;s signature is verified without revealing the private key using a technique called elliptic curve signature scheme.
While conventional computers don&#8217;t possess the necessary computational power to derive a private key from a public key, quantum computers could do it rather easily. “The elliptic curve signature scheme used by Bitcoin&#8230;could be completely broken by a quantum computer as early as 2027,” Aggarwal and his colleagues wrote.
<h2>Cryptography Gets Boosted</h2>
This security threat isn&#8217;t unique to Bitcoin. Just about everything on the internet and every computer system with a modicum of security uses the same cryptographic principles. To that end, quantum computers put anything using <a href="https://futurism.com/1-evergreen-how-quantum-computers-would-destroy-todays-encryption-methods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">today&#8217;s encryption methods at risk</a>.
&#8220;[T]here is little doubt that the power of quantum computing could be used to &#8216;crack&#8217; current encryption methods,&#8221; William Hurley, the chair of the Quantum Computing Standards Workgroup of the<a href="https://www.ieee.org/index.html?WT.mc_id=mn_ieee" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)</a>, told Futurism.
&#8220;Encryption methods like <a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(algorithm)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RSA</a> are based on the simple premise that factoring large numbers is computationally unattractive,&#8221; said Hurley, who has previously written about the <a href="https://superposition.com/2017/10/17/the-end-of-encryption-is-coming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threat quantum computers pose</a> to <a href="https://futurism.com/nist-study-quantum-computers-will-make-current-cryptography-obsolete/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">today&#8217;s encryption methods</a>. &#8220;RSA and other encryption methods essentially make it so time and resource intensive that it becomes undesirable to invest in breaking the encryption. With the advent of quantum computers, the factoring of these two large numbers now becomes more of a reality.&#8221;
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Quantum computers could potentially become <a href="https://futurism.com/future-quantum-computer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so powerful</a> they require <a href="https://futurism.com/a-new-400k-distance-record-set-in-quantum-cryptography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their own kind of cryptography</a>, but that doesn&#8217;t mean Bitcoin and today&#8217;s encryption methods must be scrapped entirely. With some reworking, they could be made more secure.
For starters, Hurley suggests doubling or tripling the length of cryptographic keys. &#8220;Doubling the length of the encryption key is even more effective in a symmetric encryption scheme,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Quantum computers could use Grover’s Algorithm to break symmetric keys in quadratic time, but that’s not nearly fast enough to overcome a longer key.&#8221;
According to MIT Technology Review, Bitcoin doesn&#8217;t have any plans to revise its current security protocols just yet, but with usable quantum computers still a decade or two away, cryptocurrency platforms have time to reconsider their encryption methods.
&#8220;It’s easy to romanticize quantum computing. And while the technology is closer than you think, it’s not magic,&#8221; said Hurley. &#8220;It will not be the end of encryption, as many propose.&#8221;
Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

One revolutionary tech could cripple another.

Experts: "Quantum computers will break Bitcoin security within 10 years"

Future Society

Within the next decade, quantum computers could compromise Bitcoin's security by exploiting the cryptocurrency platform's weaknesses.

The Future of Bitcoin Is Threatened by Quantum Computers

Can Bitcoin keep up with quantum computing?

The Future of Bitcoin is Threatened by Quantum Computers

Quantum computers will be as transformative as the invention of the internet.

They will redirect the future of our world.

Watch: The science of quantum computers explained in under 2 minutes

Blue glowing quantum computer

Hard Science

Quantum computers will usher in the next great era in computing technology. Their successful creation will be a paradigm-shifting achievement.

The Science of Quantum Computers Explained in Under Two Minutes

<h2>Small Packages</h2>
The US Air Force has developed a new &#8220;Mini Crypto&#8221; chip that will allow hardware like <a href="https://futurism.com/the-farming-of-the-future-agriculture-drones-take-to-the-skies/?src=featured" target="_blank">unmanned aerial vehicles</a> and explosive ordinance disposal robots to communicate and exchange data securely.
The chip is a self-contained encryption engine that is capable of creating a unique, session-based key that the receiving party needs to use to <a href="https://futurism.com/end-to-end-encryption-isnt-enough-security-for-real-people/?src=featured" target="_blank">decrypt the message or data</a>. The process meets the NSA&#8217;s stringent security standards, making it difficult and resource-intensive for other entities to access the information being relayed.
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The device was designed to be as small and lightweight as possible, to make it convenient in the field. It&#8217;s said to be around the size of a cracker, and requires just 400 milliwatts of power to operate — around the same amount as a conventional <a href="https://futurism.com/incredibly-affordable-solar-powered-hearing-aid/" target="_blank">hearing aid</a>.
<h2>Crypto Communications</h2>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/warfare-2040-the-future-of-military-technology-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/11/HomeThumb-1.jpg" alt="Warfare 2040: The Future of Military Technology [INFOGRAPHIC]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/warfare-2040-the-future-of-military-technology-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>It&#8217;s crucial for operatives in the field — whether they&#8217;re human or otherwise — to be able to communicate back to their commanding officers without the information being intercepted. One of the greatest strengths of the Mini Crypto chip is that it&#8217;s &#8220;losable,&#8221; meaning that it can be deployed into the field without any concerns about retrieving the physical hardware to protect data.
&#8220;Mini Crypto&#8217;s portability and losability make it ideal for things like precision air drops of supplies,&#8221; said Heidi Beason, the program manager for the project at the cryptologic and cyber system division of the Air Force&#8217;s joint base in San Antonio, Texas, <a href="http://www.nellis.af.mil/News/Article/1327816/a-chip-that-scrambles/" target="_blank">in a press release</a>. &#8220;We think this will allow commanders to send combat material to really austere locations for pickup, and protect their exact location, without putting the troops who need the material at risk.&#8221;

"Mini Crypto's portability and losability make it ideal for things like precision air drops of supplies."

The US Air Force has a new chip to foster secure communications

vector digital global technology, abstract background

The US Air Force developed a "Mini Crypto" chip allowing unmanned aerial vehicles and explosive disposal robots to securely communicate and exchange data.

The US Air Force Has a New Chip to Foster Secure Communications

Mini Crypto will enable field operatives, drones, and robots to keep their communications safe from interception.

This is how we will establish a quantum internet.

The way we connect may soon be changed forever.

Watch: How “Quantum Weirdness” Will Secure the Future of Computing

<h2>End-to-End Encryption</h2>
Government officials continue to seek technology companies’ help fighting terrorism and crime. But the most commonly proposed solution would severely limit regular people’s ability to communicate securely online. And it ignores the fact that governments have other ways to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bypassing-encryption-lawful-hacking-is-the-next-frontier-of-law-enforcement-technology-74122">keep an electronic eye on targets</a> of investigations.
<figure id="attachment_95560" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-95560" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/08/34462306685_28ce019e3a_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image Source: Jessica Herron/ Flickr Commons</figcaption></figure>
In June, government intelligence officials from the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/world/uk-us-five-eyes-intelligence-explainer/index.html">Five Eyes Alliance</a> nations held a meeting in Ottawa, Canada, to talk about how to convince tech companies to “<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-will-lead-five-eyes-discussions-to-thwart-terrorist-encryption-brandis/">thwart the encryption of terrorist messaging</a>.” In July, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2017-07-14/press-conference-attorney-general-senator-hon-george-brandis-qc-and-acting">called on technology companies</a> to voluntarily ban all systems that totally encrypt messages in transit from sender to recipient, an approach known as “end-to-end encryption.” British Home Secretary Amber Rudd made global headlines with her July 31 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/home-secretary-amber-rudd-real-people-dont-need-end-to-end-encryption-terrorists-2017-8">newspaper opinion piece</a> arguing that “<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-messages-private-amber-rudd-home-secretary-real-people-chat-apps-messaging-encrypted-a7870401.html">real people</a>” don’t need end-to-end encryption.
These claims completely ignore the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/06/22/battle-of-the-secure-messaging-apps-how-signal-beats-whatsapp/">one billion</a> real people who already use secure messaging apps like <a href="https://whispersystems.org/">Signal</a>and <a href="https://www.whatsapp.com/">WhatsApp</a>. And it leaves no room for people who may decide they want that security in the future. Yet some technology companies look like they might be <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/17/apple-australia-encryption-law/">considering removing end-to-end encryption</a> – and others <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data">installed backdoors</a> for government access years ago. It’s been two decades since the <a href="https://www.epic.org/crypto/clipper/">Clipper chip</a> was in the news, but now a revival of the <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/policy-papers/doomed-to-repeat-history-lessons-from-the-crypto-wars-of-the-1990s/">government-business-consumer “crypto-wars” of the 1990s</a> threatens.
One thing is very clear to computer scientists like me: We real people should work on improving security where we are most vulnerable – on our own devices.
<h2>Endpoints Are the Weakest Link</h2>
For the moment at least, we do have good, easy-to-use solutions for secure communication between computers, including <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/11/hacker-lexicon-end-to-end-encryption/">end-to-end encryption</a> of our messages. End-to-end encryption means that a message is encrypted by the sender, and decrypted by the recipient, and no third party is able to decrypt the message.
End-to-end is important, but security experts have <a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/bsi/articles/knowledge/principles/securing-the-weakest-link">warned for years</a> that the most vulnerable place for your data is not during transit from place to place, but rather when it’s stored or displayed at one end or the other – on a screen, on a disk, in memory or on some device in the cloud.
As the <a href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/?">WikiLeaks release of CIA hacking tools</a>highlighted, if someone can gain control of a device, they can read the messages <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/opinion/the-truth-about-the-wikileaks-cia-cache.html">without needing to decrypt them</a>. And compromising endpoints – both smartphones and personal computers – is <a href="https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/critical-takeaways-wikileaks-vault/">getting easier</a> all the time.
Why are we most vulnerable at the endpoint? Because we don’t like to be inconvenienced, and because adding more protection makes our devices harder to use, the same way putting multiple locks on a door makes it harder to get in, for both the homeowner and the burglar. Inventing new ways to protect our digital endpoints without reducing their usefulness is very challenging, but some new technologies just over the horizon might help.
<h2>Next-Generation Solutions</h2>
Suppose a criminal organization or bad government, EvilRegime, wants to spy on you and everyone you communicate with. To protect yourself, you’ve installed an end-to-end encryption tool, such as <a href="https://whispersystems.org/">Signal</a>, for messaging. This makes eavesdropping – even with a court’s permission – that much more difficult for EvilRegime.
But what if EvilRegime tricks you into installing spyware on your device? For example, they could swap out a legitimate upgrade of your favorite game, “ClashBirds,” with a compromised version. Or, EvilRegime could use a malware “<a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/topic/network-investigative-techniques">network investigative technique</a>” as a backdoor into your machine. With control of your endpoint, EvilRegime can read your messages as you type them, even before they are encrypted.
To guard against either type of EvilRegime’s trickery, we need to improve our endpoint security game in a few key ways, making sure that:
<ul>
<li>EvilRegime isn’t <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/new-android-threat-prowl-krysanec-malware-masquerades-legitimate-apps-unleashes-remote-access-1462013">masquerading</a> as the company that makes “ClashBirds” when we install our software.</li>
<li>No one has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/03/10/ispy-cia-campaign-steal-apples-secrets/">tampered</a> with our “ClashBirds” app before or after installation.</li>
<li>The app doesn’t have any <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/23/nsa-director-defends-backdoors-into-technology-companies">backdoors</a> or <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/11/what-is-a-zero-day/">security holes</a>that could be exploited by EvilRegime after we install it.</li>
</ul>
In addition, it would be ideal if <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/03/why_america_s_current_approach_to_cybersecurity_is_so_dangerous.html">users could control their apps’ security themselves</a>, rather than having to rely on <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/14/secure-apps-in-googles-play-store-are-a-crapshoot/">app store security</a> provided by yet another vulnerable corporation.
Computer security experts are excited about the idea that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/01/24/a-complete-beginners-guide-to-blockchain/">blockchain technology</a> might be able to help us secure our own endpoints. Blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, creates a <a href="https://theconversation.com/blockchains-focusing-on-bitcoin-misses-the-real-revolution-in-digital-trust-58125">verifiable, unchangeable public record</a> of information.
What this means for endpoint security is that computer scientists might be able to create blockchain-based tools to help us <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/CCGRID.2017.8">verify the origin of our apps</a>. We could also use blockchains to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/WICSA.2016.21">confirm our data haven’t been tampered with</a>, and to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/SPW.2015.27">ensure our privacy</a>. And as long as the source code for these programs is also free for us to inspect – as <a href="https://github.com/whispersystems/">Signal is</a> today – the security community will be able to <a href="https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/1999/0915.html#OpenSourceandSecurity">verify that there are no secret backdoors</a>.
As with any new technology, there is an enormous amount of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b5b1a5f2-5030-11e7-bfb8-997009366969">hype and misinformation</a> around blockchain and what it can do. It will take time to sift through all these ideas and develop secure tools that are easy to use. In the meantime, we all need to continue to <a href="https://ssd.eff.org/en">use end-to-end encryption</a> apps whenever possible. We should also stay vigilant about <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-choose-terrible-passwords-and-how-to-fix-them-76619">password hygiene</a> and about what apps we install on our machines. Finally, we must demand that real people always have access to the best security mechanisms available, so we can decide for ourselves how and when to <a href="https://ssd.eff.org/en">resist surveillance</a>.

We should work on improving security where we are most vulnerable – on our own devices.

End-to-end is important, but security experts have warned for years that the most vulnerable place for your data is not during transit from place to place, but rather when it’s stored.

End-To-End Encryption Isn’t Enough Security for ‘Real People’

Why are we most vulnerable at the endpoint?

<h2>Quantum Computers Are Coming</h2>
The advent of better quantum computers is something to be excited about. Research on developing more practical quantum computers abound, including those that can make it work as a consumer product—and not just limited to its current enterprise versions.
As a brief recap of this tech, quantum computers operate on a faster and more efficient level of computing. This is made possible by the use of quantum bits (or qubits) to carry information. Qubits are 0s and 1s encoded with two distinguishable quantum states. Unlike the binary bits used in classical computers, qubits are capable of processing vastly more data and information, largely because they can function as both 0 and 1.
Qubits, however, have a short lifespan and require rather extreme conditions to sustain the &#8220;superposition&#8221; and &#8220;entanglement&#8221; they rely on. Much of quantum computing research has been devoted to solving &#8220;the problem of qubits.&#8221; As soon as this hurdle is definitively overcome, it would only be a matter of time before practical quantum computers are realized.
<figure style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/12/QuantumComputing-1-1200x663.jpg" alt="Credits: IBM" width="800" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Credit: IBM</figcaption></figure>
<h2>A Risk to Today&#8217;s Encryption</h2>
All this is well and good. Their improved processing power makes quantum computers the ideal tools for research, and even solving questions currently unanswered due to the lack of adequate equipment. Quantum computing will revolutionize a number of important fields, including medicine and astronomy.
But it looks like it will also change cybersecurity—thanks to how quantum computing is expected to be absurdly good at cracking complex mathematical problems, the backbone of major encryption approaches today.
According to <a style="background-color: white" href="http://globalriskinstitute.org/publications/quantum-computing-cybersecurity/" target="_blank">a recent report</a> by the <a href="http://globalriskinstitute.org/" target="_blank">Global Risk Institute</a>, there is a &#8220;one in seven chance that some of the fundamental public-key cryptography tools upon which we rely today will be broken [by emerging quantum computing technologies] by 2026 and a 50% chance by 2031.&#8221;
Breaking cryptography isn&#8217;t like the number of computer hacks executed in cyber attacks we see today. Cryptography, according to the report, is a fundamental building block of cybersecurity and it takes many years to replace. Basically, cryptography provides protection to online transactions, emails, financial and medical records—all of which could be rendered vulnerable by quantum computers.
<h2>Quantum for a Quantum</h2>
Of course, the threat isn&#8217;t there yet. More importantly, people are beginning to pay attention, <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/nsa-preps-quantum-resistant-algorithms-to-head-off-crypto-apocolypse/" target="_blank">including the NSA</a>. The threat to encryption posed by quantum computing isn&#8217;t unsolvable. The same mechanism that makes it vulnerable can also turn it &#8220;quantum computing-proof,&#8221; so to speak.
There is such a thing as <a href="http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/quantum-cryptography/" target="_blank">quantum cryptography</a>, which uses photon-based qubits to securely transmit information encoded into the quantum states of particles. This quantum communication makes it possible for the recipient to detect attempts to intercept incoming messages. And it isn&#8217;t exactly new.
<figure style="width: 564px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img style="width: 404.07px;height: 624.016px" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/12/c07c3389d7591036f70ecfcf220ff5bd.jpg" alt="Credits: WIRED" width="564" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Credit: WIRED</figcaption></figure>
Its applications include what&#8217;s called the <a href="https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/09/quantum-key-distribution/" target="_blank">quantum key distribution</a> (QKD). Basically, it uses quantum communication to share keys securely, which will be used to decrypt messages sent over conventional networks. Unfortunately, low bandwidth makes the system currently untenable, despite having been demonstrated to work in several cities.
This is just one possible work around. <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/09/tricky-encryption-stump-quantum-computers/?mbid=social_fb" target="_blank">Other methods are being developed</a>, including code-based cryptography and lattice-based cryptography. In any case, there&#8217;s time to improve it. In the same way that quantum computing is still being refined, network infrastructure can be improved to allow for quantum secure cryptography.

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